Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-08-19

There is in the possession Of a physician
Of Lancaster county. Pa, n portion Of n
woman's skull which was plowed up in
field near the foot Of the Chckies Hills
many years ago. The owner asserts that
| it is the skull of woman who was the
daughter of one Of the early settlers in that
part of the county, and who, but for the
sudden and untimely death Of her lover,
would have become the wife of james
Annesley Lord Altman, who succeeded to
the title and its estates in the county Wex-
ford, Ireland, in l143. The story that the
crimblng skull recalls is pathetic romance
of the olden time.
Among the passengers on board of a YES
sci that landed in Philadelphia in the early
summer Of 1918, was a boy who said his
name was James Annesley. He was ID
years old, and said he had been placed
on the ship at Dublin by his uncle who had
deserted him. The boys passage had not
been paid, and as his story was not believed
| by the captain Of the vessel, be was sold,
after the custom of that day TO serve his
| purchaser until his service had satisfied the
amount paid for him TO the ships captain
| Unfortunates Of that kind were called "re-
demptioners," and as the rich agricultural
lands in Lancaster and adjoining counties
were then being taken up by settlers, and
| farm help was scarce in the country, farm
ers owning such lands were always on hand
at the landing of every vessel from abroad
with the hope Of securing one or more re
| demptioners to labor on the farms they
were making The boy Annesley was pur-
chased by an old German farmer who owned
tract at the foot Of the Chickies Hills
! He was put to work at farm drudgery, and
slaved for the farmer for over 10 years
Once during this term of service he at
| tempted TO escape from his master, but was
captured and locked in the log building
which was then the county Jail, and stood
in what is now the centre of the village
Of Columbia The building was still stand
| ing within the recollection of middle aged
residents Of Columbia today.
The boy could have been kept prisoner at
the pleasure Of his master, but the story is
that he was released at the fearful solicita-
tion of the farmers daughter-a girl one
| year the junior of Annesley. The young
edemptioner went back TO his drudgery on
the farm, and never attempted TO escape
| from it again. As he grew to manhood he
developed a wild disposition, and the farm
er's daughter, between whom and the Irish
lad a strong affection had grown, was the
only person who could hold him in check
The girls father objected to the intimacy
between Annesley and his daughter, and at
the end of 10 years tried to dismiss the
| youth from his service and drive him away
| from the neighborhood but the young
man refused to go. He said he intended to
marry the farmers daughter as soon as he
could 20 back to ireland and recover the
| rights of which he had been robbed. The
old German did not believe the stories An
nesley was in the habit of telling about his
| just claim to wealth and rank in his native
land, but the girl had the greatest faith in
| them.
In the summer of 114O two Irish immi-
grants who had landed in Philadelphia and
were on their way afoot to a settlement on
the Susquehanna, in what is now Dauphin
county, while passing by the old Germans
farm stopped to ask for a drink of water
| Young Annesey happened to be the person
of whom they made the request. Noticing
that the men were Irishmen he asked them
| from what part of Ireland they came He
was told that they were natives of county
Wexford, and that they had been tenants
of Lord Altman, whose cruelties had forced
them and others TO leave Ireland and come
to America. Annesley surprised the two
lrishmen, who were brothers, named John
and William Brody, by telling them that he
was James Annesley, the real Lord Altman
and that at his fathers death in 112S he had
been induced by his uncle Richard to leave
his school in Dublin and 90 with him aboard
vessel which had sailed with him to
America The Irishmen told him that the
uncle was in possession of the title and es-
tates, he having proved the death of his
nephew, James, and being the next of kin
Arthur, Lord Altman, the father of
James, had married the natural daughter of
the Earl of Buckingham in 1714. Soon af-
| ter the birth of her son in 1915 she and her
| ~. Al
child, and formed a liaison with young
Irish woman by the name of Gregory. She
succeeded in creating in his heart a strong
dislike for the boy James, and the latter
was placed in charge of n school teacher in
| Dublin. The boy did not know who his
| father was until the latter's death, when his
| Dublin guardian told him. His uncle took
him from the guardian under pretense of
conducting him to Wexford, but sent him
adrift to America instead, and came into
the title and property.
The two Brodys were satisfied beyond
doubt that the old Germans farm hand was
the real Lord Altman, and volunteered to
| go back with him to Ireland and help him
| to his rights. James Annesley went to
| Philadelphia, and succeeded in interesting
Robert Ellis leading lawyer of that day,
| in his case. Ellis provided the young man
|
of the British navy, who was then stationed
at the West Indies, and he forwarded An
nesey to England, with strong recommen-
| dations to influential parties. The Brodys
returned to Ireland and put themselves at
| the command of the claimant. Before he
| had proceedings under way to recover his
| estates and title from his uncle Richard, An
nesley killed a man in a brawl in London.
| He was arrested and indicted for murder
| His uncle used money without stint to Sc
cure the young mans conviction, but he was
acquitted, it having been shown that he
| killed the man in self-defense. The pro-
ceedings against his uncle followed and re
suited in the complete success of the claim
ants suit, in November, 1743.
A few months after James Annesley left
Philadelphia to press his claim as Lord AL
than the old Germans daughter gave birth
TO a child. Its paternity was never in
doubt, and on receipt of a letter from the
| girl begging him to return and marry her
the claimant of the Altman estates and title
replied and renewed his promise to return
to America at the very earliest moment
| practicable and fulfill his vows. He wrote
to the girl by every vessel, and on the an
nouncement of the decision of the court in
his favor sent her word that the next vessel
after the one that carried the news to her
would have him as passenger to America,
whence he would return to his estates in
Ireland with her as Lady Altman.
The defeated uncle and false Lord Altman
appealed from the decision of the court to
the House of Lords While the case was
pending there the young Lord Altman died
suddenly and mysteriously in his apartment
in London. The uncle then became Lord
Altham in fact and the case was at an end.
The sad news Of the young Lords death
was carried to the expectant German girl
in America by one of the Brodys, who had
remained in England, intending to take
service under the successful claimant The
news unbalanced the mind of the unfortu-
nate girl, and she died hopeless maniac
three years later. She was buried on her
fathers farm, at the spot where the skull
was found l25 years later. The old German
sold the farm after his daughters death, he
being a widower, and went away, no one
knew whittier. He left his nameless grand
child care upon strangers. The boy
grew 10 manhood, and was killed in one of
the frontier Indian fights before the Revolu-
tionary war The old English novels of
Roderick Random and Florence Macarty
were based on the story of young Lord Al
tham's life.